Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to “The Game of Creation,” one of humanity’s oldest, most enduring, and most rewarding games. Players of this game include entrepreneurs like Ben Franklin, rulers such as Constantine, children’s champions such as Jim Henson, and revolutionaries such as Susan B. Anthony. Relics and trophies of previous editions of the game include the Egyptian civilization, the number zero, and the Internet. This is the rumored “game” rap artists, such as Nicki Minaj, talk about in song when referencing their ability to make a lot of money and be the best emcee. It is the real life game of how to be successful and fulfill your dreams, along with the rest of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This game has changed over time, and this edition, WorkCraft’s edition, is unique in various ways.

Key Point: This game is similar to the lottery in one way— it is played with real money, not Monopoly money. So go hard or go home!

Edition Changes

Firstly, WorkCraft’s Game of Creation is the first version of the game that:

Announces itself – players are told the rules (as opposed to games such as Mao); it is structured by the 6 elements

There are boundaries – all forms of hate and murder are banned.

The highest levels of the game are no longer only played by those traditionally “in power”; it can now be played by entrepreneurs, freelancers, and soccer moms, as well as traditional rulers and despots. It is to be played by everyone who wants a higher quality of life, regardless of how personal or infinite their dream is.

Communities – this is probably the most significant and pivotal change to the game. Communities have always been featured as a part of the game. But like Vessel, they are easily pushed to the side. However, without communities, nothing would be given value. Plus, ideas, like children, take an entire village to raise them and bring them to full maturity. Though we often hear stories of a singular inventor or “success stories of the American dream” these tales are incomplete without acknowledging the various supporters and collaborators that were pivotal to the idea’s fruition. Many ancient cultures understood that though the king’s power supposedly came from God, it could be taken from him by his subjects; King Louis XVI had power until the French Revolution killed him for forgetting his people.

Usually in the game, communities become fully realized after the success of an idea. However, WorkCraft’s edition recognizes communities are often actually the harbingers of success, rather than the after-effect. By having the support of communities, players of the game will find success more elegantly attainable.

Support: traditionally the game is played in a very free-form manner. But it has been realized that negative consequences, such as death and societal stratification, result from this. So WorkCraft has decided to follow an ancient rule, recently made popular, though slightly modified by Tanqueray – ‘Everything in moderation.’ And this is why this edition has Moderators. More accurately, this game has Moderators in an attempt to foster more unified communities that have the sense of decorum to speak respectfully to each other, as well as have an easier time navigating the troublesome parts of The Game. In the same vein, Teachers and Guru Initiates will be community members that help a Player learn more (effectively) about ideas that are important and formative to the community, and help Players explore the feasibility and methods of various ideas and leads. Undoubtedly, these support members will make the game a far more pleasurable experience than in previous iterations.

Prizes: Previously, unfortunate sacrifices often had to be made to gain success in the game of creation. WorkCraft’s edition attempts to bypass some of these hardships by creating focused, interest-based communities, support members within those communities, and financial prizes which make realization of dreams far easier. In this edition, prizes will be more direct; the only price that will need to be paid to earn the prize is effort. And did we mention we’d be giving out $10,000, $100,000, and $1,000,000 prizes? Yeah, check out our Heart Campaign (Link to Heart page).

Success Rate: In many versions of the game, the going is thought to be very tough (think Prometheus pushing the rock up the hill). In the entrepreneurial edition, the catch phrase is “The game where 9 out of 10 businesses fail!” And while this statistic is grossly inaccurate for various reasons, there is a grain of truth to it; making your dream a success is hard work. In an effort to make both personal and professional dreams attainable, WorkCraft will jumpstart members’ success if they win the WorkCraft edition of the game. The game in full swing should net at least 12 winners per month, 1 per week per level. However, this is highly dependent on the number of active players. The more active players, the more winners there can be. Once again, please see the Heart Campaign (Link to Heart page) for further details.

Vessel: In previous editions of the game, the first 5 elements were considered the only important ones, even in the most cosmic sense; when considering how a plant grows it is well known that you need the Earth to put it in, the Water of the rain and the Fire of the sun to help it grow, the Wind to carry its children along, and Heart to ensure it flourishes and shares the fruits of its bounty. However, the cycle is actually incomplete. The container of all of these Elements, Vessel, has been left as the Unspoken Element. In human terms, our treatment of Vessel can be thought of as our legacy. As a Native American proverb says, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” If you’re confused, this means that WorkCraft’s concept of Vessel is about ensuring that the fruit we leave to our children is ripe for the picking, not rotting on the vine.

Vessel, being the container of all things, can be described as a place of existence. If the baby plant did not have the seed to grow from, there would be no plant to use any of the other 5 Elements. The seed is the plant’s own Vessel, and obviously, if the Earth, one of the ultimate Vessels, with all parts of its atmosphere did not exist, there would be no way for the plant to grow. (Yo dawg, I heard you like Vessel. So I put Vessel in your Vessel.) Because of our neglect for the idea of Vessel, ours has begun to crack, some say irreparably. Our water sources are drying up, and many other non-renewable natural resources are depleting. Our Vessel is being abused. We think that by acknowledging Vessel, making it one of the main structures of WorkCraft’s Game of Creation, we can create success not just for ourselves but for the world itself.